Ran out of memory? I don't think so

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a computer storage issue where a user reports that their daughter's computer shows a low memory warning despite having a significant amount of hard drive space available. Participants explore potential causes, including software issues, file management, and the possibility of hidden files or viruses.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that the low memory warning might refer to RAM rather than hard drive space.
  • Another points out that low virtual memory could be a significant factor, especially in Windows systems.
  • One user confirms that the hard drive shows only 11 GB free after deleting some files, raising questions about the missing space.
  • Concerns are raised about the potential for a virus to cause the hard drive to appear full.
  • Participants discuss the possibility of large log files or temporary files consuming significant space.
  • One participant mentions that transferring files over 4 GB on a FAT32 file system can trigger a "not enough space" error, even if space is available.
  • Suggestions are made to use Windows Explorer to search for large files that may be taking up space.
  • A user shares their experience of discovering a large "public" folder containing recorded TV shows that accounted for the missing space.
  • Another participant recommends using a program called "Tree Size Free" to analyze disk usage.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the exact cause of the low memory warning, with multiple competing views on whether it is related to hard drive space, RAM, or other factors. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the underlying issue until further investigation is conducted.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the need to check for hidden files and the importance of understanding file system limitations, such as those associated with FAT32. There are also references to previous virus issues that may complicate the current situation.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for users experiencing similar storage issues on their computers, particularly those using Windows operating systems and dealing with unexpected low memory warnings.

Q_Goest
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My daughter's computer has a 280 GB hard drive. I looked at it and it seemed to be using about 29 GB, but she's getting a pop up that says it's low on memory and has less than 0.5 GB left.

I went through and deleted some programs she wasn't using. Got it down to about 26 GB so at least the low memory warning isn't popping up any more. But clearly the hard drive isn't close to being full.

I suspect a virus or something may have locked out 90% of the hard drive.

Any suggestions as to how to check and what to do about it?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Q_Goest said:
but she's getting a pop up that says it's low on memory and has less than 0.5 GB left.

Are you sure that refers to hard-disk space and not to RAM?
 
It could be RAM or more importantly for Windows (which generates the error I believe you have) is low virtual memory.

If you have 280GB hd and only used 26GB, that certainly isn't the problem.

In My Computer, right click the drive and select properties, look at the useage graph. That will tell you exactly what's being used.
 
I'm sure it's referring to the hard drive. The hard drive size shows 289 GB with only 11 GB free space remaining (ie: 278 GB used). And that's after I've deleted a bunch of stuff.

If I go to where programs can be added/deleted, it shows about 26 GB is being used for programs which looks about right given what I know is on the machine. So the space being used for programs is tiny compared to the hard drive size.

There are also about 500 music files so maybe another few GB there. Other than that, there's not much on it. I can't come close to finding a total of about 278 GB. It's more like 28 GB give or take.

Can a virus do something like that? Make a hard drive appear full somehow?

Any programs on the web that might help?


Edit: One more note. I've run a scan using AVG Free and Spybot but they didn't come up with anything. There have been viruses on the machine before but as far as I know they've been eliminated.
 
Last edited:
What OS is it?

There's no virus, it's just full of crap from your daughter.

Let me know the above and we'll track it down.

Programs won't take that much, so the problem is unlikely to be there.

If you pull up the user files (C:\Users\...) and right click it you'll see how much space that folder is taking. Once you see where a chunk is, follow this to track it down.
 
There might be big log files and temporary files that eat up space. I can't tell you how to check for them since I don't use Windows.
 
Stephen Tashi said:
There might be big log files and temporary files that eat up space. I can't tell you how to check for them since I don't use Windows.

I'd be very concerned if my log and temporary files were eating 200gb+ of space.

My money is on the daughter downloading music / films that aren't immediately obvious.
 
Thanks. I did clean up temporary files, and did a "Free up space on your hard drive" under "Performance and Maintenance". That freed up a few more GB but not much.

I'll have to wait till tomorrow now. She's playing internet games...
 
If you try to transfer something over 4 GB from or to a FAT32 file system, it will produce the "not enough space" error even when both drives have all the space in the world.

If you have a jump drive or external that's formatted as FAT32 that's associated with this issue, reformat it as NTFS and try again.
 
  • #10
Pythagorean said:
If you try to transfer something over 4 GB from or to a FAT32 file system, it will produce the "not enough space" error even when both drives have all the space in the world.

If you have a jump drive or external that's formatted as FAT32 that's associated with this issue, reformat it as NTFS and try again.

It's been clarified there's only 11gb of the 280gb left. So the hard drive is lacking, which would start to interfere with virtual memory.
 
  • #11
Assuming this is windows, run Windows Explorer (click on start / programs / accessories / Windows Explorer), and do a search / all files and folders / what size is it? ... and select specify size, and enter 1048576 to create a list of all files >= 1 GB in size. This should help you find any huge files that are taking up space.
 
  • #12
Q_Goest,

Make sure that you have also turned on the "Show hidden files and folders" setting so that you can see everything.
 
  • #13
hrmm... backup and reinstall windows =)
 
  • #14
Pythagorean said:
hrmm... backup and reinstall windows =)

Just make sure you don't backup all 200+ gb of crap.
 
  • #15
jarednjames said:
If you pull up the user files (C:\Users\...) and right click it you'll see how much space that folder is taking. Once you see where a chunk is, follow this to track it down.
thankyou thankyou thankyou. That was the key I needed! I opened up users as you pointed out, right clicked on properties, and found a "public" folder in there with 199 GB of TV shows she'd recorded! lmao I'm pretty sure they were recorded automatically when she set something up to do so.

Anyway, that solved the mystery. I deleted those and now she's got more space than she knows what to do with.

Until that is, she decides to record more TV shows.

Thanks everyone for the input!
 
  • #16
I use a program called "Tree Size Free", which is available through CNET. It will give you a list of all the folders and the memory used on any specified drive.
 
  • #17
JaredJames said:
Just make sure you don't backup all 200+ gb of crap.

haha lmao
 

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